US and Iraqi officials have announced Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaida’s leader in Iraq, is dead. According to their account, Zarqawi was killed in a US-Iraqi raid near the town of Baqouba on Wednesday. Another seven aides were said to be killed in the attack. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Zarqawi’s identity had been confirmed through fingerprints and facial identification. Zarqawi was the most-wanted man in Iraq. The US government had placed a $25 million dollar bounty on his head. As leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Zarqawi is said to have directed attacks that killed scores of Iraqi civilians as well as US troops. Zarqawi also claimed responsibility for several attacks outside Iraq, including the triple hotel bombings in Jordan last November. Zarqawi’s role in Iraq has been the subject of much debate. He is thought to be the mastermind of the deadliest insurgent attacks in Iraq. Others have questioned whether he even exists, or say that his influence has been overblown. Writing on his weblog, University of Michigan professor and noted Middle East expert Juan Cole said: “Leaders are significant and not always easily replaced. But Zarqawi in my view has been less important than local Iraqi leaders and groups. I don’t expect the guerrilla war to subside any time soon.”